


the in-between

by polkadottedmars



Category: Nancy Drew - Carolyn Keene
Genre: Early Relationship, F/M, Firsts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 18:39:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5259479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polkadottedmars/pseuds/polkadottedmars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nancy's first fight with Ned doesn't end how she expects it to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the in-between

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ndnickerson](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ndnickerson/gifts).



> written for ndnickerson's birthday, old fic reposted from Livejournal

_Buzz._

Nancy quickly hit ignore on her phone and turned her attention back to the two cousins sitting across from her at the diner table. Noticing Bess’ pointed stare she flustered. “It’s nothing,” she said quickly.

“That’s the fourth time he’s called you in an hour, Nancy. Why is he so desperate to talk to you, anyway?” George asked, drowning her French fries in ketchup.

Looking wistfully at her cousin’s plate, Bess snorted and turned to frown at her own salad. “Clearly there’s trouble in paradise.”

Nancy folded her arms, ignoring her friend. “I got an interesting call from Mr. Keller this morning,” she said changing the subject.

“We’re more interested with what Mr. Nickerson is calling about,” Bess said grinning.

George rolled her eyes. “I knew Ned Nickerson was going to be trouble. It’s not like we don’t spend enough time talking about Bess’ boy drama.” She shot Bess a grin. “But hey, you guys made it two months. You beat Bess’ record by, like, seven weeks.”

Bess pouted. “Sorry we don’t all want to talk about jump shoots and drooling.”

“Jump shots and dribbling, Bess!”

“Whatever. The point is that some of us have lives. Right, Nance?” When she got no response she shifted to see Nancy staring out the window. “Nancy? Are you okay?”

Nancy shrugged her shoulders. “I think Ned and I are over. He probably hates me.” Picking up her napkin, she nervously began to tear it apart into little pieces.

_Buzz._

“I may not be a boy expert, but I know he doesn’t hate you if he’s that desperate to talk to you. I’m sure Bess will back me up,” George said gently.

Bess nodded. “Remember when Gabe and I got into that huge fight? He never even bothered to tell me we were over.”

“I think that’s why he’s calling. To tell me it’s over,” Nancy answered dejectedly.

“I’m sure if you answer his calls you’ll see you’re wrong,” Bess said optimistically.

“Or I’ll see that I’m right,” Nancy sighed. “I’d rather live in this in-between where I can pretend we’re okay.”

///

Two hours of retail therapy later, Nancy had a dress that Bess assured her would make Ned forgive her for anything. Juggling her shopping bags and trying not to slip on the thin sheet of ice outside her house, she arrived at her front door without noticing the visitor sitting on her porch swing.

“Hey, Nan,” Ned said cautiously.

Startled, Nancy dropped one of the bags. “N-Ned!”

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly, jumping up to pick up her bag. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Your dad said I could wait inside for you, but I figured that’d be pretty awkward.”

Nancy nodded mutely, taking the bag from his extended hand.

He tilted his head casually towards the bags. “Have fun shopping?”

Making a face, Nancy shook her head. “It was Bess’ idea. George managed to beg out of it so I got the full focus of Bess’ shopping attention.”

Ned chuckled, a smile enveloping his face until it quickly faded. “Um, can we talk?” he asked unsure.

Taking a deep breath, Nancy agreed. “Just let me put these bags in my room and I’ll be right back out.”

///

The date had started out great. Ned had picked her up at her house, with a warm greeting in the form of a kiss. It wasn’t until on the way to dinner that he had mentioned a Mapleton party later that night. At first Nancy assumed he wanted to cut their date night short, but he quickly expressed excitement at showing her off to his friends.

She had met his close friends, even hung out with them and their girlfriends a few times, but this was the first time she would face the whole Mapleton High student body. She worried they’d run into an ex, remembering the time she and Ned had run into Don Cameron at River Height’s movie theater.

Ned hadn’t felt threatened, at least not visibly. He had no reason to feel so, though. Ned was a better catch than Don ever was. But Ned had never talked about any past girlfriends. Nancy had no way to know how she compared.

She picked at her food at the restaurant, too nervous about the party to even make conversation. Ned’s attempt to get her to reveal why she was quiet were ignored, and they were both stressed by the time they made it to the party.

Aaron, Ned’s teammate throwing the party, greeted them at the door, with a blonde hanging on his arm. Without acknowledging Nancy, he teased Ned about how Cassie was looking for him.

Cassie. The name made Nancy’s blood run cold. She immediately conjured up an image of a blonde cheerleader latching herself onto Ned. It didn’t take the leech long to find them. Ned was in the middle of introducing Nancy to one of his classmates when a blonde blur leaped into Ned’s arms.

Nancy couldn’t keep track of what the girl was saying, every other word being an abbreviation, so she focused on her outfit instead. Cassie’s dress’ length was closer to that of a shirt and the heels she wore put her closer to Ned’s height than Nancy.

Looking down at her own outfit, Nancy regretted that the party fell on the night of one of their casual dates. Her jeans and sweater were no comparison to Cassie’s clothes, or lack thereof. Self-conscious, she turned around, losing herself in the crowd. 

Ned caught up with her when she reached the driveway. When he asked her what was wrong, she couldn’t hold back the snarky retort about not seeing past what was right in front of him. She could see she had hurt him.

“I pushed her off me. Maybe you should have been there to see it!”

Deep down, Nancy knew it was true. He hadn’t really done anything wrong, but that didn’t stop her from being hurt. She lashed out at him again, turning to walk away from him, ignoring his calls.

She was offered a ride home from the girlfriend of one of Ned’s friends. It wasn’t until Emma dropped her off at her house, after a car ride of Emma bashing Cassie, that Nancy realized what an idiot she was.

“Maybe you should have been there!”

Maybe that was the problem. She was never there.

///

“I’m sorry,” Ned said, breaking the silence.

Nancy shrugged. “Don’t be. I understand why you want to break up. I’ve been a pretty lousy girlfriend. You deserve better.”

“What?” Ned asked incredulously. “You think I want to break up? You’re the one who hasn’t answered my calls.”

Nancy turned to face Ned, her eyes hesitantly lighting up with hope. “You mean you don’t want to?”

“Of course not, Nan. It was just a fight,” he said, moving to hold her hand. “Why would you think I’d want to break up?”

Nancy ducked her head, avoiding his gaze. “I just can’t help but wonder how long until you get tired of dates doubling as stakeouts or me putting you in danger. Tired of me.”

“Tired of you?” Ned asked surprised. “How could anyone get tired of you? Your life is an adventure,” he teased.

Nancy shrugged. “You’re the popular jock. You belong with a cheerleader or someone like Bess.”

“Nan, no,” Ned said forcefully, making his girlfriend look at him. “I belong with you. I belong with the girl who pays enough attention to notice the little details about me. I belong with the girl who makes me smile no matter what. I belong with the girl I love. I belong with you, Nancy Drew.”

Nancy gasped. “You love me?”

Ned nodded emphatically. “I’ve been waiting to say it, afraid to scare you off, but I can’t have you thinking there’s anyone else better suited for me. You’re it, Nan.”

“Why don’t you talk about your exes?” Nancy asked after a moment’s pause.

Puzzled, Ned frowned. “What?”

“You know about Don,” Nancy said simply.

Ned chuckled. “Nan, there’s no one to really talk about. Sure, I dated. But there was no one I thought I would last with.” He put his arm around her and hugged her close. “You’re the only one who has made my heart race, made me look forward to beyond the next date. I’ve never been in love with anyone else.”

“I love you too, Ned,” Nancy said, her eyes starting to tear. “You’re it for me too.”

Ned grinned and stole a quick kiss. “Good. So you’ll start answering my phone calls again? And we can go on a date tonight?”

Nancy nodded, “I even have the perfect new dress.” She checked her watch. “Think you can handle waiting in the house with my dad now that it won’t be awkward?”

Ned nodded as she moved to get up. Reaching out to grab her hand, he stopped her. “One more thing, Nan.” He waited until she made eye contact. “Please stop worrying about not being good enough. If anything, you’re the one who is too good. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

“We’re both lucky,” she said softly. “I’ll change quickly.”

“Take as long as you need. I’d wait forever for you, Nancy.”


End file.
